How to Troubleshoot OneDrive Sign-in on a Shared PC in OneDrive for Business

When you try to sign in to OneDrive on a shared PC, you may see a blank sign-in window, an error that the account already exists, or a message that sign-in is blocked by your organization. These failures often occur because Windows caches credentials from a previous user, or because the shared PC is joined to a domain that enforces conflicting group policies. This article explains the root causes of OneDrive sign-in failures on shared computers and provides clear steps to resolve each one.

Why OneDrive Sign-in Fails on a Shared Computer

OneDrive for Business uses the same authentication model as Microsoft 365. When a user signs in on a shared PC, Windows stores their credentials in the Windows Credential Manager. If a second user attempts to sign in on the same machine without clearing those cached credentials, OneDrive may try to reuse the old tokens and fail.

Another common cause is that the shared PC is joined to an on-premises Active Directory domain or to Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) with group policies that restrict sign-in. For example, the policy “Allow syncing OneDrive accounts for only specific organizations” can block any account that is not explicitly allowed. Similarly, the policy “Silently sign in users to the OneDrive sync app with their Windows credentials” forces OneDrive to use the domain user’s credentials, which may not match the Microsoft 365 account the person wants to use.

A third cause is that the OneDrive client on the shared PC is still linked to the previous user’s account. OneDrive does not automatically sign out when a different Windows user logs in. Each Windows user must unlink their OneDrive account before the next person can sign in with a different account.

Credential conflicts

Windows Credential Manager stores tokens for OneDrive under “Windows Credentials.” These tokens include the user’s email, tenant ID, and refresh token. If a new user signs in without removing the old tokens, OneDrive may present the wrong account picker or show an error that the account is already in use.

Group policy restrictions

In a domain-joined shared PC, IT administrators can apply OneDrive group policies through the Group Policy Management Console. The most restrictive policies are:

• Allow syncing OneDrive accounts for only specific organizations – This policy requires the user’s domain to be in an approved list. If the list is empty, no account can sign in.
• Silently sign in users to the OneDrive sync app with their Windows credentials – This policy forces OneDrive to use the Active Directory credentials of the currently logged-on Windows user, which may not match the Microsoft 365 license.
• Prevent users from syncing personal OneDrive accounts – This policy blocks accounts that are not part of the organization’s tenant.

Steps to Resolve OneDrive Sign-in Failures on a Shared PC

Perform the following steps in order. After each step, try signing in to OneDrive again. If the issue persists, move to the next step.

Step 1: Clear cached credentials in Windows Credential Manager

1. Open Credential Manager
   Press the Windows key, type Credential Manager, and select the app from the search results.
2. Switch to Windows Credentials
   Click Windows Credentials in the top navigation bar.
3. Locate OneDrive entries
   Scroll down to the “Generic credentials” section. Look for entries that start with OneDrive Cached Credential or MicrosoftOffice16_Data:ADAL: followed by a GUID or user email.
4. Remove each OneDrive credential
   Click the arrow to expand the entry, then click Remove. Confirm the deletion. Repeat for all entries that contain “OneDrive” or “ADAL.”
5. Close Credential Manager and restart OneDrive
   Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray and select Close OneDrive. Then open OneDrive from the Start menu and attempt to sign in with the correct account.

Step 2: Unlink the previous user’s OneDrive account

1. Open OneDrive settings
   Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon in the system tray and select Settings.
2. Go to the Account tab
   In the OneDrive settings window, click the Account tab.
3. Click Unlink this PC
   Under the signed-in user’s information, click Unlink this PC. Confirm the prompt. This disconnects the current OneDrive session and removes the local sync relationship.
4. Close OneDrive and restart
   Right-click the OneDrive icon again and choose Close OneDrive. Open OneDrive from the Start menu. You should see the initial sign-in screen.

Step 3: Check and modify OneDrive group policies

1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor
   Press Windows key + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter. If the command is not found, the PC is not running Windows Pro or Enterprise edition, or group policy editing is restricted. In that case, contact your IT administrator.
2. Navigate to OneDrive policies
   Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > OneDrive. If the OneDrive folder does not exist, the OneDrive administrative templates are not installed. Download and install the OneDrive group policy files from the Microsoft Download Center, or ask your IT team to apply them.
3. Review the sign-in policies
   Double-click each of these policies and set them to Not Configured or Disabled to allow any Microsoft 365 account to sign in:
   – Allow syncing OneDrive accounts for only specific organizations
   – Silently sign in users to the OneDrive sync app with their Windows credentials
   – Prevent users from syncing personal OneDrive accounts
4. Apply the changes
   Click OK on each policy window. Close the Local Group Policy Editor. Open a command prompt as administrator and run gpupdate /force to refresh policy settings immediately.
5. Restart OneDrive and sign in
   Close OneDrive completely, then reopen it and attempt sign-in.

Step 4: Reset OneDrive if sign-in still fails

1. Open Run dialog
   Press Windows key + R.
2. Run the OneDrive reset command
   Type %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe /reset and press Enter. A command window flashes briefly. Wait 30 seconds.
3. Restart OneDrive manually
   Press Windows key + R again, type %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\onedrive.exe, and press Enter. OneDrive reinitializes and shows the sign-in screen.
4. Sign in with the correct account
   Enter the work or school email and password. If multi-factor authentication is required, complete the verification prompt.

If OneDrive Still Has Issues After the Main Fix

OneDrive shows “This account already exists on this PC”

This error means a previous user’s OneDrive sync relationship is still registered in the registry. Open Registry Editor by pressing Windows key + R, typing regedit, and pressing Enter. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\OneDrive\Accounts\Business1. Delete the entire Business1 key. Then restart OneDrive and sign in again.

OneDrive sign-in window is blank or never loads

A blank sign-in window often indicates that the WebView2 runtime is missing or outdated. Download and install the latest Evergreen WebView2 Runtime from the Microsoft Edge Developer site. After installation, restart OneDrive and try signing in again.

OneDrive keeps signing in with the wrong user account

If OneDrive automatically signs in with a cached Windows user, open OneDrive settings, go to the Account tab, and click Sign out. Then click Add an account and enter the correct credentials. If the wrong account reappears, clear the Windows Credentials as described in Step 1.

OneDrive Sign-in Methods on a Shared PC: Manual vs Silent

Item	Manual sign-in	Silent sign-in with Windows credentials
User action required	User enters email and password each time	No action required – OneDrive uses the Windows login
Best for shared PCs	Yes, because each user signs in with their own Microsoft 365 account	No, because it forces the domain account that may not have a OneDrive license
Group policy setting	“Silently sign in users” set to Disabled	“Silently sign in users” set to Enabled
Credential conflicts	Rare if cached credentials are cleared between users	Frequent – old tokens persist and prevent new sign-ins

For shared PCs, manual sign-in with cleared credentials is the most reliable method. Silent sign-in should be avoided unless every Windows user on that PC has the same Microsoft 365 tenant and license.

After following the steps in this article, you can sign in to OneDrive on a shared PC without credential conflicts or group policy blocks. If the problem returns, run the reset command again and verify that no group policies are re-applying silently. For persistent issues, ask your IT administrator to verify the tenant-level settings in the Microsoft 365 admin center under Settings > Org settings > OneDrive > Sync.